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Space Slang
While many planets have their own local dialects, the traders that frequent the ports have begun a universal slang, often adopted or perverted by other similar communities. Types of Slang Universal Tombstone-Drifting ship who's crew died but the ship is intact. Usually the result of mutiny, system failure, or sabotage. Carpet Ride- Traveling in a space ship, within an atmosphere, never entering space. Space Sucker- Someone who spends most of their time in space Land Lover- Someone who spends most of their time on planets FreezeFried- used to mean completely messed up, taken from when a ship strays too close to a star, and one half gets too hot, while the other side is cold in the vacuum of space Mosquito- Small scavenging ship, often following larger ships. Most often Sloops. Mosquito Bite- Place where something small has been taken. When part of a larger ships hull or external system is missing (regardless if stolen or simply fell off), or when something small goes missing inside of a ship Hopper- Ship with only a M-FTL drive. Usually travel in groups or follow larger ships Toaster- An A.I. (used negatively) Died like a Tourist: An expression indicating that somebody died in a very foolish, stupid manner. Dinner Belling- Jargon referring to the habit of ships leaving Uberspace to shift for a brief moment. The brief change in electromagnetic wavelengths is easily-detected by any sensors in the area, meaning that leaving Uberspace is “ringing the dinner bell” for any potential hostiles in the area. Coffin- A space suit, usually when alluding to the fact that many spacers die in situations wherein they are wearing spacesuits. Tourist- A term used to derogatorily refer to non-spacers, or to people without common sense. Traffic Controller- Anyone who controls access to something, or manages a flow of people. This can refer to anyone from actual space traffic controllers to bartenders to pimps. Chumming- To send out signals in order to bait another craft into approaching Chinese lantern- An easily detectable object Golfball- A showy, but wasteful and potentially dangerous, action. Usually involves creating space junk of some kind. Derived from Alan Shepard's famous lunar swing on Apollo 14. Yellow snow- Any waste, usually biological, that cannot be recycled, so named for the cloud of ice crystals formed when liquid waste is expelled into space. In a similar vein, ship septic tanks are often called "snowglobes". Lakia- Someone undertaking a solo mission. Almost always carries the connotation that they will, or at least may, die while off-ship. Taken from a soviet dog, which died in space.Rabbit hunting- The practice of looking for recognizable shapes and patterns on planets, moons or asteroids, such as the "rabbit" on the near side of Earth's. Air conditioning-Needed Life support. Tack- FTL Navigation Beacon Don't let the boom hit you- Said to unexperienced crewmen Coffin- Small, cramped spaceship Lead suit- Radiation shielding Jump across the crocs- To think one's way out of a tricky situation Divers- People leaving spacecrafts / habitats in spacesuits Mainsail- Main engine(s) Child of Eve- A non-cloned human Seed World- A world founded or owned by a single person, or company Mother/Mom- Home world Dandruff- The loose debris floating around Civilized Systems Cut and run- any situation where dumping the cargo and fleeing is the most logical plan of action Skiptraceur- professional bounty hunter Guard dog- Alarm Gold dust- A substance or good which is very valuable Rocket Man- Someone with multiple (almost always false) identities on different planets Fog- Nebula Balloon- Unagile Ship IceBerg- Asteroid or comet Fall overboard- Fall out of the ship into space Man overboard- Someone who has fallen out of the ship Oven- Engine room, or Power room On the clock- currently on a paid contract, often with a time limit I.T./EyeeTee/Icedtea- Engineer Insystem- in the system Armstrong- First person from a ship's crew to walk upon the surface of a body Crusoe- A survivor of a shipwreck on an uninhabited or barely inhabited body Popcorn - a ship (or ships) that have suffered total explosive decompression. Bug- Hostile, non-sentient (or seemingly non-sentient) alien Roach- Stow-away Prairie Dogs- any ground-bound species. Known as such for their tendency to pop out of their homes and stare(prairie dogging) when they see some indication of a ship. Signpost- A satellite or small station that transmits local information on a unrestricted frequency Bopost- short for Hobo Signpost. A low tech satellite operating on simple radio frequencies that transmits a very few easily recognized pieces of information about the surrounding location for those who understand the code. Dust - low orbit/close fly-by; a close call Zip-lock - to seal something air-tight Drop - enter atmosphere Grit - to really try; "Turn that bolt and put some grit in it!" Spare - Another term for a lone survivor Canoe/Paddle- Ship with no FTL drive Turned Green- Might work Tilt- partially or mostly broken Space roar- unintelligible audio communication Ghost- A ship that FTL jumps and goes missing Acne- Minor superficial hull damage Void's call- fascination for the vastness of space. The subject will daydream, lose appetite, and become apathic. usually happen to newbies King's swan- something which is taboo to damage and usually precious King's woods- Somewhere where it is taboo to go without clearance, usually military space Mama's boys- Crew of stations in orbit around worlds, so called because they never venture far from their 'mother', the planet. Canary- Backup analog air-quality monitors. Almost never a literal canary. Almost. Airgapped-To die of AC failure within sight of rescue. Sometimes also used to mean cock-blocked. Leap of Faith- Emergency cryogenic capsules. They'll keep you alive when the AC fails... sort of. Caveman/Iceman-Someone suffering from long-term health effects due to emergency cryogenic preservation, or someone currently in a cryo chamber Cat Fish- A ship crewed only by an A.I. that is mistaken for a human or sentient being Spoiled- A ship that cannot take low-grade fuel Sunglasses- Solar Panel The Void- Regions of space between stars, where there is no major source of gravity or sunlight for multiple light-years in any direction. Generally avoided both for its lack of useful resources and for what might be there that is NOT known about Braked- Crashed Swimming pool- Large ship with enough gravity to cause external objects to follow it